There will be no new posts up until December 21, but I invite you to read some of my older posts. They were written long before I learned about navigating the blogosphere, and have always looked a bit lost and forlorn. So, while I’m gone take a look at some of them. If you do, I know you will make a post very happy.

First, you have to believe.

I recently found this line in one of my old journals. I can’t recall why I wrote this because it doesn’t have a connection with the rest of the journal entry. But I like reading this sentence, and it has stayed with me these last few days.

There’s something powerful about it; it’s more than just five words written in a journal.

First, you have to believe.

I thought about writing a post on what these words mean to me. Then I realized by doing this I would be defining them and your responses would be based on my definition. Instead, I decided to share them with you, plain and simple, here on my blog.

First, you have to believe.

No more blank default avatar

Since I’ve been blogging and leaving comments on other blogs, I’ve noticed I didn’t have an avatar. An avatar is a person’s online alter ego that is represented by an icon. While other bloggers used a photo of themselves, a symbol or something else unique, the default picture that showed up with my comments was a generic blank face. BORING!

Well, I got tired of that boring blank face and decided it was time to choose my own avatar.

Unfortunately, the only instruction she couldn’t give me was which avatar to choose.

Free avatars

I started searching the site she recommended as well as different sites advertising FREE AVATARS, but nothing felt right. I tried to create my own, without much success. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t use one of those!

Then I realized I was going about this the wrong way. While watching a friend’s daughter play dress-up, I asked her who she was. She told me she was a doctor, specifically a cardiac specialist! My first thought was that things have really changed since I played dress-up! Then I realized this young girl was pretending to be the person she wanted to become.

And it hit me; this is what I needed to do to find my avatar. If the avatar was going to represent me, I needed to pick one that expressed who I wanted to become.

I spent some time thinking about this. What did I want my avatar to say about me? I wrote down some words reflecting the person I wanted to become. They included intuitive, healing, open-hearted, caring, and compassionate.

When I went back to my search, I used these words to guide me and let the avatars speak to me. I returned to the site Barbara recommended, www.allavatars.com. While I had previously searched this site without success, this time I quickly found THE ONE.

She’s called Tree that grows hearts and I absolutely love her name and her picture. The illustrator, kyrn, has created quite a few avatars all of which are beautiful, but this one felt right for me!

The rest of the process was easy. Now when I leave a comment, I see my avatar and think about how much I like being the Tree that grows hearts.

The muse and I…

Have you ever had times in your life when you needed to get something done, but you just couldn’t? You knew you ought to be doing it and yet your mind/body refused to take action.

As a writer, I know just how frustrating this can be. Recently, I wanted to write a post for my blog, but the more I tried, the harder it was. I was unable to construct a complete sentence, much less a whole post.

My muse was not being cooperative. I looked through my writer’s cupboard for an idea, but this didn’t work either. Just when an idea seemed to be going someplace, it would peter out. It was like trying to find water in a desert.

After staring at a blank page for some time, I finally gave up.

Learning to be fallow

I sat down on my couch and my cat Agatha jumped up beside me. It wasn’t long before both of us fell asleep. When I awoke, one of the ideas I had been working on started to twirl around in my mind. Before long, it grew and developed momentum.

I went back to my computer and my fingers couldn’t type fast enough. The story was just there!

This reminded me of how farmers let a field go fallow, or left unseeded during a growing season. By giving the field time off, it can restore itself. Then, as the next growing season rolls around, the soil is ready to nurture the new plants.

I like this concept.

I think it applies to people as well. Maybe when we feel stuck, we need to let ourselves go fallow for a while. We need to give ourselves permission to take time off to restore our minds and bodies.

That’s what my nap with Agatha did for me. It let my mind restore itself, if only for a short time. Then when rested, my mind was ready for an idea to grow and thrive into a story. My muse was back.

Welcome to A Sharing Connection

A Sharing Connection is a place for you to share your talents, strengths and creativity with others traveling through life.
So, don’t just look in the window. Come on in, pull up a virtual chair, and imagine you’re at a wonderful dinner. All around the table are interesting people sharing 'food for thought.' Won't you join us in the conversation?